The Life and Times of Megan Jones
by sheshe330
Summary: In the TV program "Harry Potter and Me," JK Rowling flashed a list of Harry's classmates, one of which was a Hufflepuff named Megan Jones. Here's her story, beginning in their fifth year at Hogwarts. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first chapter-story! I'm not sure how long it's going to be yet. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything! :D

**Chapter One**

"Megan?" I looked up from the summer reading I was doing on my mother's old leather swivel chair. "Hi, Mum," I said, smiling and sticking a bookmark in my spot. _Defensive Magical Theory_ could certainly wait another few minutes. Or centuries.

"Could you possibly help me organize these dragon-hide gloves? A few have holes in them, I don't know _what_ those third-years were doing last year, but even the smallest hole can mean harm to students." I nodded, setting the textbook down on her battered old desk in the corner of Greenhouse 7, and smiled at her affectionately. My mum had frizzy grey hair, was always covered in dirt, and was the frumpiest person I knew. I loved her more than anything else in the world.

She whistled a tune off-key as she turned a batch of honking daffodils, allowing the other sides to soak up the sun. I turned back to the gloves. Those third years were really careless with the gloves. _Puffapods weren't _that_ strenuous_, I thought, shaking my head. _Probably a bunch of Slytherins_. While there was no proof against that particular House, Hufflepuffs didn't like them on principle.

The gloves sorted, I returned to my summer reading, taking it to the shade of a beech tree on the bank of the lake. Instead of reading about "Non-Retaliation and Negotiation," which Chapter 34 covered, I gazed out across the flat, reflective surface towards Hogsmeade Station.

My schoolmates would be returning to Hogwarts the very next day, a prospect I was both excited about and dreading. While I loved most of them, I also loved the castle in its summertime calm and quiet. Most of the teachers stayed there, like my mum, planning the year ahead and making preparations, but their number barely equaled the full population of my school. I often spent days without seeing any of my teachers, with the exception of my mum, which I didn't mind at all. After all, how much of a summer holiday can you have with your teachers wandering around?

Not that I'd been at Hogwarts since the previous June. My dad lived in London with his new wife, Lucinda, who I was supposed to call Lucy but couldn't bring myself to do so. She was very nice, however, and took me shopping on Bond Street more than once, even though I told her that I didn't wear Muggle clothes all that much. As a Muggle, though, she didn't really understand and told me, "Surely you don't wear those robes all the time?" I decided to give up the argument, not that I much minded the new wardrobe I ended up with.

I loved my dad as much as I loved my mum, but, in a way, I was glad that I didn't spend so much time with him. I didn't exactly fit in with his life. He was a major financial mogul in the Muggle world and was a major consultant at Gringotts, which meant that he spent lots of time with purebloods on the Wizarding side and hoity-toity high society Muggles. Not having grown up with either group, I felt uncomfortably out of place with them.

The giant squid glided languidly just beneath the water's surface, bringing me back to the current moment. The sky was a pale August blue, and puffy clouds surrounded the mountains in the distance. The grounds were an emerald green, the Quidditch hoops shone in the afternoon sunlight. I sighed, leaning against the trunk of the beech. I had three years left at Hogwarts. The very thought that I was halfway through my school years made my heart feel heavier than all my schoolbooks combined. I couldn't begin to think of what life might be like outside of Hogwarts—beyond the limits of Hogsmeade, where I'd grown up.

An owl flew towards the castle, its shadow moving swiftly over the grounds. One glance told me that it was Dumbledore's owl—not because it looked much different than the other school owls, but because it went to his office window. I sighed, wishing that somebody would send _me_ an owl. All I'd heard from my friends over the summer was that Hannah went on holiday to Spain, presumably for the whole summer, because I hadn't heard a word from her since. Susan Bones asked me if I'd been reading the _Daily Prophet_, which I hadn't, because I got all my important news from my parents, depending on who I was with at the time. She hadn't written back for whatever reason.

Clouds started gathering over the mountains, forming one large grey storm cloud. When I glimpsed rain pouring out of them, I gathered up my things and hurried back to the castle before the storm reached Hogwarts.

Later that evening, after dinner in Mum's sitting room, I retreated to a window seat near Ravenclaw Tower that overlooked both the mountains and the forest below to write a letter to my Muggle friend, Shannon, who I hung around with whenever I was in the Muggle side of London.

_Dear Shannon,_

_I miss you lots already. How's Brady? Tell him I miss him, too, unless you've broken up, in which case I hate his guts and never want to see him again._

_After the hustle and bustle of London, my mum's is rather quiet, but I wouldn't call it boring. I finished lots of summer homework, which is good since school starts tomorrow (September 1__st__!). That's when Casselbury starts up, right? I can't believe summer's over! It seems like I was just arriving at my dad and Lucinda's! Speaking of Lucinda, let me know if you want any of my D&G purchases. I've never much liked their things and I have a uniform here besides._

_Gone to any concerts recently? I haven't, unless you count some fiddles and traditional music, which I don't exactly. The Spice Girls are touring again, aren't they? It'd be great to go to one of their shows together, yeah? I think my favorite might be Baby Spice, only because I'm not very Sporty, Posh, Scary, and I'm definitely not a ginger. (Not that gingers are __bad__! You know I love your hair.)_

_Will I be seeing you at Christmastime? I certainly hope so, unless you Carmarthens are off on another exotic adventure. I'm very grateful to Dad that I'm always home for Christmas. How can you spend such a wintry holiday away from England's snow? I may never know._

_It seems that I've got to go now, but please write me back as soon as you possibly can! I love hearing from you, as it gets a tiny bit isolated up here in Scotland. Love you lots!_

_Love from Megan xx_

I folded up the letter, sealed it, and gave it to my Chaco owl, Esmeralda, addressed to my dad in London. Since Shannon had no idea that I was a witch, I sent all my letters to her through my dad, who mailed them in the Muggle post to her at school, Casselbury. She wrote back through Muggle post to the Hogsmeade post office, where Esmeralda picked up the letters.

Esmeralda disappeared in the steel-grey storm clouds that still hung in the sky and I left the Owlery, full of school owls that had by then returned from their deliveries all over Britain. As was my tradition, I took a final tour of the castle in its present state, without Ravenclaws stereotypically rushing to the library, Gryffindors pulling pranks on Filch, Hufflepuffs walking around with their friends, gossiping, or Slytherins skulking around in the shadows, waiting for their enemies to come around the bend so that they could shoot off a curse in their direction.

Not everyone in each House acted the way you might expect, I reflected. For instance, Zacharias Smith, Hufflepuff, was one of the rudest people I'd ever known, and we Hufflepuffs were known for our kind, gentle dispositions. It was common knowledge that Romilda Vane had been scheming to have Cedric Diggory fall desperately in love with her until the previous June—despite the fact that he was much older than she and desperately in love with Cho Chang instead. Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw, was out of it so often that everyone called her "Loony." And Tracey Davis, a Slytherin, was quite nice after you got to you knew her.

While I never knew the answers to the Ravenclaw Tower questions, I did know the secret passageway that ended behind a bookcase in the far left corner, which was how I always entered on my final tour. I'd never told anyone, for fear of seeming disloyal to my House, but I liked the Ravenclaw common room the best. The ceiling, painted with stars, was one of my very favorite things about Hogwarts, and I loved the feeling of the tower. I rather disliked sleeping underground and would've much preferred a dormitory like the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors had.

I didn't visit the dormitories, as I'd done that plenty of times before, and they weren't anything very special. One thing that Hufflepuffs had that Ravenclaws and Gryffindors didn't was large dormitories, with each four-poster bed in an alcove with an armoire, window, and bookshelves.

I wandered past the entrance for the Come and Go Room, which I didn't enter, either, because I didn't need it at the moment. I used it often during the school year, when I wanted the solitude I enjoyed in summertime, which I was enjoying at that very moment. The tapestry across from the hidden entrance looked the same as ever, and I smiled as I passed a few of the secret places I knew about from extensive searching during boring summer days.

The Fat Lady having gone on holiday to the French Riviera for the summer (she had another, lesser known portrait in a chateau there), her portrait stood slightly ajar, and I climbed easily through to the Gryffindor common room. The fireplace was cold, the shabby armchairs empty. I'd been there often during the school year with my friends, most notably Pavarti Patil, whose sister, Padma, I was also good friends with. Gryffindor Tower was one of the few places in the castle that I didn't enjoy without my schoolmates inside, so I left quickly.

I spent the next few hours slowly making my way down the floors, pausing in the prefects' bathroom (which I had been allowed access to since my first year, a privilege that came with having a professor for a parent) to fill my bottle of marjoram essential oil, which I used for perfume and with my shampoo. Moaning Myrtle came through a tap while I was there, and complained so long about the mermaid in the painting that I eventually left because she wouldn't stop (I couldn't help but liken her to Zacharias Smith, annoying Hufflepuff previously mentioned, who will whine until someone has to forcibly shut him up).

The library was on the fourth floor, but it was closed so I left the book I had to return in the deposit box outside the door. I passed the secret passageway out of Hogwarts behind the mirror, which had caved in until my mum fixed it with the help of Professor McGonagall earlier that summer. "We might need a getaway," Mum said darkly, and Professor McGonagall, who had been looking rather odd in a Muggle dress, nodded grimly.

The third, second, and first floors went without much happening, the forbidden corridor on the third no longer forbidden and therefore no longer very interesting; the secret of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom having been discovered (not that I'd known about it beforehand); the hospital wing on the first floor without any infirm friends. The Great Hall was another place in the castle that I thoroughly disliked without my friends filling it, so I avoided it, as I'd done all summer.

When I arrived in the Hufflepuff common room (having skipped over the Slytherins' domain entirely), Aether, Susan's owl, was waiting patiently on the table on which we always slaved over our difficult Potions homework. I smiled, tugging the letter gently from the owl's legs, and sat down in a comfortable winged chair to read it.

_Hi Megan,_

_How are you? Hopefully back from sneaking around the castle by now. Can you believe that school's starting back up tomorrow? Are you happy or sad? I'm both, since my holiday's been pretty good and I'm not very excited to be back in a fifty-mile radius from those dungeons! But I'm really glad that I'm going to be seeing you again—seeing all my friends. Staying with my auntie has been very interesting, for sure, but very dramatic and not very restful. Did you know that Harry Potter was nearly expelled this summer? More on that tomorrow._

_Well, forget what I just said about "tomorrow," I know you'll be seething mad if I don't tell you instantly and you might take Aether hostage, which I simply will not allow. According to my auntie, who was at his hearing, a couple of dementors swooped down on his town—somewhere in Surrey, I think—and he used the Patronus Charm to save both himself and his Muggle cousin. How desperately frightening, isn't it? Dementors on the loose! And attacking random people (though when Harry's concerned, it's usually never random)! Innocent Muggles!_

_You won't read about it in the _Daily Prophet_, since surely the Ministry's bound to hush it all up. Impressive, about the Patronus, isn't it? Auntie Amelia said that it was a corporeal one, which means that it takes the same shape every time. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to produce one? I'm going to try once I get back to Hogwarts. Join me? Padma surely will, she's always looking for a new charm to master. What a Ravenclaw!_

_On a side note, did you know that Hannah and Ernie have been made prefects? I'm not very disappointed that I haven't been made one; I don't need responsibility like that. Are you upset? Please don't be, we'll cause lots of trouble this year and laugh when Hannah and Ernie try to scold us. Hannah told me that somebody told her that Terry Boot's been made one, too, which __I__ find interesting, only because anything concerning Terry Boot interests me. I'm so shameless, it's rather pathetic._

_I'm very sorry I haven't written very much at all this summer, except living with my auntie meant that I hadn't much spare time, plus Aether has just recently recovered from a pretty rough attack. I think it was likely a fox, I sent her off to hunt and to deliver a letter to my parents in the country and she returned with bite marks and the like. Please don't hold it against me, though I know you won't._

_Further side note regarding Justin F-F, who I ran into in Diagon Alley twice (no coincidence, Meg, I swear) and who was very interested in your whereabouts and well-being. Maybe you should ditch your plans for Michael Corner? Rumour is he's dating Ginny Weasley in any event. Some are saying he's the next Roger Davies, and I'm inclined to agree. What is it with Ravenclaw boys (Terry not included in that generalization)?_

_Must go now, or you'll never reply by tomorrow morning! Have a fantastic last night, and warm up my spot in our corner for me, please! Also, I'd love you forever if you gave Aether some water and a couple owl treats. Thanks very much!_

_Your very best friend,_

_Susan_

I smiled and poured Aether a bowl of water from the pitcher always left on the mantel, and then tossed him a couple owl treats from my supply for Esmeralda. I scribbled back a short reply while he munched away happily.

_Hello Suze,_

_Nice to hear that you're still alive. I hope your auntie won't mind Aether returning so late, I'm afraid I returned from my ramblings at about ten-thirty. Tell her I say hi, won't you?_

_I'd heard that Hannah, Ernie, and Terry had all made prefect, thanks to my connections here at Hogwarts. Also prefects are Padma (Patil) for Ravenclaw, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger for Gryffindor (why not Harry, I'm not entirely sure), and Malfoy and Pansy for Slytherin. Why Malfoy and Pansy, the world will never know, and I personally am not looking forward to them having any kind of power over me. In fact, if it weren't for Mum (though which I have a certain amount of power), I would actually be dreading returning to Hogwarts. You're a tough old bat, though, so I'm sure it'll be __you__ that teaches them a lesson rather than the other way round._

_As for all your insinuations about Ravenclaw boys, girl-crazy or not, I have absolutely nothing to say (except for the fact that your obsession with Terry Boot has obviously grown larger in your absence from one another). And if you see Justin F-F again before you both arrive at Hogwarts, do tell him a hearty hello from me. Nothing more will be discussed until your collective arrival._

_Now for the most important part: dementors swooping about the country? What has this world come to? I'm very happy to be safely at Hogwarts, where Dumbledore will surely keep any and all dementors far away. And, while I haven't much contact with Harry, I'm very glad that he wasn't expelled from school, because I much prefer him over others that I unfortunately must call "schoolmate". Tell your auntie thank you for keeping justice alive!_

_See you very soon! I'm keeping your spot blazing hot in the hopes that the warmer it is, the sooner you'll come. I can't tell you how happy I was to see a familiar face (in Aether, of course) when I arrived in the usually-empty common room this evening. _

_Have a nice journey!_

_Love always,_

_Your best friend,_

_Megan Jones_

Aether disappeared through the open common room door, I leaned back and looked around the common room affectionately. While I would've preferred a tower common room and dormitory, I loved my basement one anyways because of the memories, people attached to it. There, by the fireplace, I won a game of wizard's chess against Eddie Carmichael, who had been the reigning Hufflepuff champion. And over there, by the false window, I'd first befriended Susan Bones over a ridiculously long Potions essay.

At ten-thirty, I went to bed, enjoying the complete privacy for the last time until next June.


	2. Chapter 2

I slept in the next day until one in the afternoon, and then I lazed around the common room for another hour, fully relishing the complete lack of obligations for my last day without them. That isn't to say that I didn't have obligations. At two-fifteen, I ate a ham sandwich while reorganizing my things. All my non-textbook books were carefully lined up on the shelves on my wall, the clothes I'd actually wear in the imminent four months folded and put away in the armoire, the others in boxes under my bed. Finally able to use magic, I tidied up the dormitory, dusting the furniture and steam-cleaning the rug.

Another obligation that was important was my mum, who was still organizing her extra supplies in the greenhouse. I finally convinced her to retire the embarrassingly pink ear muffs and helped with the Chinese Chomping Cabbages (or did the very best I could). We had just finished up with the cabbages and were heading into the castle for a late tea when a short, fat woman with a ridiculous pink bow in her hair pulled up the driveway in a Ministry of Magic car. There were a large number of pink trunks that the driver kept pulling out of the boot. As each was carefully placed on the ground, she waved her wand and they disappeared, presumably to her office.

"Mum, who's that?" I asked, turning to look at her face. It had paled, and she looked angry. "The new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, I'm sure," she replied, marching up the steps and through the heavy oak doors into the Entrance Hall. Before we were inside, however, the ugly woman turned to us with a look of interest on her frog-like face. "Hello," she said in an unexpectedly sweet voice—sickeningly sweet. Neither of us said anything, and she continued, a broad smile spreading across her face, "And you are?"

"Pomona Sprout," Mum replied stiffly, one hand on my shoulder. "Herbology professor?" the woman said interestedly. "Yes." "Charmed," the woman said, waving her wand again as trunks began accumulating at her feet. "You may have been notified of my arrival. I'm Dolores Umbridge."

_Dolores_, I thought, resisting the urge to smirk. _What a fitting name_. "I had not been," Mum said flatly, turning and marching into the Entrance Hall. I was close at her heels.

We didn't speak until we were in Mum's sitting room in the basement and I'd poured out the tea into her china. "Megan, I hope you'll promise me something," Mum said, her voice still shaking slightly. I nodded, sipping my tea—no cream, lots and lots of sugar—and wondered how horrible this Umbridge woman would really be. To me, it seemed like she'd just be a pushover, and an unlikely pick for the DADA post. _Maybe Dumbledore's playing it safe, after the fake-Moody scandal last year_, I contemplated.

"Don't listen to a word that woman says. I'll teach you Defense Against the Dark Arts myself if I have to," she said resolutely, gulping her scalding tea. "W-well, okay," I said, taken aback. "The Ministry's been trying to derail Dumbledore all summer, and now they're trying to infiltrate Hogwarts," she continued, almost as if she were thinking out loud. She may have been, because she didn't address me again. "We've tried to resist, but Fudge was determined. Plus, Dumbledore's presence at the Potter hearing probably pushed him over the edge. Minerva's always telling him to tone himself down, but you know he never will. In the end it'll surely be his demise."

I silently sipped my tea and got biscuit crumbs all over my lap and the carpet as she continued. "…whether the new security measures worked, I've no idea. Severus, as always, gave a negative report, but I don't think that he has much regard for anybody except Dumbledore at this point…"

She fell into a thoughtful silence, which I finally interrupted—after listening in confusion for nearly fifteen minutes—when my watch alerted me that it was nearly time for my schoolmates to arrive on the Hogwarts Express. "Oh yes," she said, trying to smooth her flyaway hair back in vain and downing the remains of her tea. "We'd better go, haven't we?"

I nodded, leading the way up the stairs to the Entrance Hall and down the drive to Hogsmeade Station, arriving just as the scarlet Express pulled in with a cloud of steam.

"Meg!" Susan shrieked, jumping from the train into my outstretched arms. We hugged fiercely for nearly a minute, all the while screaming about each other's hair and tans and new makeup techniques. "Hannah!" I exclaimed next, running to embrace my next-best friend, who'd just led a group of wayward first-years to where Professor Grubbly-Plank was waiting near the boats by the lake. "Congratulations!" I said, pulling away and throwing my arms around my friends. "Let's walk back, shall we? I'm feeling extremely energetic all of a sudden."

They agreed, and we walked down the drive alongside the horseless carriages, waving and calling to people who passed us. I saw Parvati, Padma, and Lavender Brown riding with Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas; Terry Boot, Michael Corner, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Ernie MacMillan, and Anthony Goldstein; Cho Chang, Marietta Edgecombe, Roger Davies, and Eddie Carmichael; the Weasley twins, Fred and George, Lee Jordan, Alicia Spinnet, Angelina Johnson, and Katie Bell. I felt a surge of complete happiness, glad that all my friends had returned to my favorite place in the world, especially the ones I didn't write to over the summer but that I loved talking with during the school year.

I took a seat in between Hannah and Susan at the Hufflepuff table, entering the Great Hall for the first time since the previous June, and was almost spastically excited when Justin sat across from me, shooting me a brilliant smile and opening his mouth to say something when Roger Davies came up to him from behind and clapped him on the back with a few words in hushed tones. Justin nodded and grinned at Roger, who looked at the surrounding Hufflepuffs with one of his famous debonair smiles—I could see every one of his white teeth—before retreating to the Ravenclaw table, where he sat next to Cho Chang.

"What a sleaze," Susan whispered to me, and I laughed loudly. "What?" Hannah asked, tugging on my sleeve. "I'll tell you later," I said, wiggling my eyebrows in a manner that broadcast the fact that what I would tell her was juicy and superficially interesting. Hannah, who was largely oblivious to girl code, furrowed her brow in confusion.

I looked back over to Justin, and he grinned again, about to speak, but _again_, he was interrupted, this time by Alex Summerby, our Hufflepuff seeker. "Charms Club president?" Alex asked in that way that means that he already knew the answer. "Maybe I'll join up this year. Then again…nah, probably won't." Lucy Stebbins, who was sitting a few seats down on my side, giggled loudly and flirtatiously, throwing Summerby a look that could only be described as "come-hither."

With all these interruptions, it was inevitable that the first years should arrive, ready to be Sorted. They timidly followed McGonagall up the center aisle to line up in front of the staff table. The Sorting Hat having been set down on its stool, and McGonagall standing back, it began its song.

This year, the song was rather different, and the Hat, rather than describing each House at length, told us all to unite in the face of our enemies. While the others at the House tables looked confused and whispers carried across the Hall, I had a strong feeling that the Hat and my mother both knew about something that the rest did not.

Susan and I whispered for the entirety of the Sorting about what the Hat may have meant—clapping with the other Hufflepuffs whenever a first year was sorted into our House—and came to the conclusion that something concerning the Ministry and Dumbledore was surely afoot.

As Rose Zeller took her place at the Hufflepuff table, Susan said, rather cheerfully, "Well, it's not a year at Hogwarts without something dark brewing. Pass me the chips?" I did so, glancing at Justin as I reached for the jug of iced pumpkin juice. He flashed _that_ grin again and leaned in slightly to ask, "How was your holiday?"

I smiled back and said, "Pretty good. I spent some time with my dad in London, which is always exciting, and then I hung out here with my mum, which is always nice and quiet." Susan kicked me three times under the table, which is code for "I see what's happening, and don't think that I won't mention it later."

"London? That's where I live!" Justin said excitedly, knocking over Ernie's glass of water. This went unnoticed, so I had to suppress my giggles. "Really? Yeah, my dad does a lot of Muggle liaising with Gringotts," I said, "so I've got lots of Muggle friends there." For a while, we exchanged mutual friends, and then he said, "I'm Muggle-born, so all my friends at home are Muggles. It's kind of nice to go home and leave the Wizarding world behind at Hogwarts, you know?"

I agreed, but mentioned that I rarely felt completely comfortable in Muggle London. "Maybe it's because I've always known I wasn't one of them. I didn't see them as being like me, I saw them as another society entirely. I've always had something to hide."

Then we discussed the difficulty of hiding our magical ways from our oblivious friends. "Shannon's got no idea," I said sadly, taking a bite of apple pie. "So while we can share our love for the Spice Girls and Weezer, I can never tell her about the Weird Sister or WNN."

Our conversation ended only with Dumbledore's speech, in which he introduced Umbridge, who made a speech of her own, much to everyone's displeasure. Another notable item was the fact that Hagrid, Care of Magical Creatures professor and gamekeeper, was being temporarily replaced by Professor Grubbly-Plank, who often substituted for him and was, by and large, much preferred.

"It's not that I don't _like_ Hagrid," I told Hannah and Susan as we filed out into the Entrance Hall after we'd been dismissed. "Are you kidding, Jones? _I _don't like the oaf, and I'm not afraid to tell everyone!" Malfoy shouted from his cluster of Slytherin cronies. Pansy Parkinson, who'd always been after him but had as yet been unsuccessful, snickered more loudly than was probably natural. "Right," I said, rolling my eyes, and turning back to my friends as we descended the stairs to the common room. "It's not that I don't _like_ him, it's that I think that Grubbly-Plank is probably better. I mean, let's not forget the hippogriff that was supposed to be executed. Sure, Malfoy brought it on himself, but then it ran away, which is kind of suspicious. And then let's not forget the dragon problem. And those bloody blast-ended skrewts!"

Hannah nodded and Susan looked inclined to agree. "I think that Hagrid isn't the best teacher, but he's one of the personalities that I've come to enjoy and expect at Hogwarts. It won't be the same here until he's returned," she said, in that way of always saying the perfect thing. "It's because you say things like that," I told her, "that we are best friends."

The common room was hustling and bustling with Hufflepuffs playing gobstones, pinning flyers on the notice board, reuniting with their friends, and writing anxious letters home about things that they'd forgotten. Lucy Stebbins, for all her annoying flirtatiousness, was comforting a distraught first-year who was dreadfully homesick.

Hannah massaged her forehead. "I'm coming down with a terrible headache," she groaned. "Care to join me in the dormitory?"

Susan and I followed her through the round passageway to the dormitory, which had been set up for my roommates' arrival, the bedcovers turned down, a fire lit in the small hearth, and trunks at the foot of each bed. "Do you want some Tylenol?" I asked, pulling the bottle out from my side table drawer. "Please," Hannah said, accepting two pills and swallowing them with some water from the pitcher. She sat on the leather couch in the center of the dormitory, gazing at the fire in the grate.

"So, Megan," Susan began, eyes dancing with both firelight and the mischief, "tell us all about your relationship with _Justin_." She drew out his name like it was a dirty word.

Of course, my cheeks reddened like they'd just been exposed to a dirty word, and I gasped, quickly soundproofing the room before saying, "Somebody might have _heard_!"

My two friends laughed. "You are _such _a girl," Susan said, and Hannah, headache apparently gone, nodded vehemently. "Well, thanks, I guess. I'd rather be called a girl than a boy," I said lamely, stalling for time. Susan, who, as my best friend, knew me far too well to put up with that, said, "_Riiiiight_. Back to the topic of conversation…please tell me all about when your first date is planned."

I rolled my eyes. "We're just _friends_, idiot," I said, throwing a pillow at her head. With my brilliant aim, it landed precisely in the fire. "You're worse than Seamus," Hannah said, laughing, as she pulled it out and restored it to its soft plumpness before tossing it back. "Ha-ha," I said, not laughing.

"Speaking of _dates_," I said, turning on the offensive, defending myself having not worked out very well, "How's Terry Boot been doing, Susan dearest?"

She stuck her tongue out at me, then slumped into the armchair. "I haven't spoken to him at all since June, and the word is that he's moved on to Astoria Greengrass."

"A _Slytherin_?" Hannah gasped, looking scandalized. Susan and I both shrugged. "Ravenclaws don't have as many problems with them as Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors do," I explained. "Plus, I'm pretty sure Astoria's not so bad." "Isn't she, like, thirteen? Am I the only one who think that's kind of weird?" Hannah continued, not willing to accept the news. "I was in love with George Weasley during our third year," I admitted, letting one of my best-kept secrets slip.

"_What_?" Susan exclaimed. "You've got to be kidding! You did _not_! You never told me!"

I grinned. "It was _years_ ago!" I said, holding my hands up. "Plus, times have definitely changed." "Aha!" she replied, grinning. "So you admit it!"

"Admit what?" Lucy Stebbins, who just entered, asked with a look of interest. "I mean, we all know you like Justin, if that's what this is all about."

Hannah and Susan's faces shone with looks of triumph. "Fine, fine," I said, and Susan jumped up and smothered me with either a large hug or an attempt to tackle me to the carpeted floor. If it was the latter, she certainly wouldn't have succeeded, since she was certainly the shortest fifth year at about four-feet-seven.

That settled, everyone seemed to be suddenly sleepy and tired. Lucy, who hadn't really been involved in the scene, climbed into bed and closed the curtain that separated her alcove from the rest of the dormitory. I did the same thing, pulling my long dark hair into a ponytail and turning out my light.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning dawned earlier than I was used to, and I yawned about ten times before I was even in the common room. It seemed the entire Hufflepuff House was in the common room that morning. I said hello to a group of third years sitting near the door before crawling out to the corridor outside with my friends.

"Wonder who we have Potions with?" Hannah asked us, and I shrugged. "Not Slytherins, surely—Snape always puts them with Gryffindors." Susan sighed. "I _hate_ being in hard classes with Ravenclaws. It's just so obvious that they're going to upstage us." I laughed. "You don't _really _hate it, though. I mean, you always have a _special tutor_ to turn to…"

She punched my arm as we entered the Entrance Hall and said, "Oh, shut up, Megan." I grinned and, having arrived at the Great Hall, took a seat at the Hufflepuff table near the front so that I'd get my schedule first.

"Bollocks!" Hannah exclaimed when Mum had passed them to us with a wink. Susan and I exchanged glances and snickered. "Ha-ha, funny—but look! Herbology first—that's fine, I suppose—but then we've Potions after break, and then Transfiguration and History of Magic after break."

I looked up from the toast I'd been buttering and asked, "What's so bad about that?" Hannah sighed and said, "No reason."

After breakfast, we headed down to Greenhouse 5, where Mum was waiting with an excited expression. "Good morning, Hufflepuffs!" I grinned at her but didn't say anything. It was an unspoken rule that during class, our relationship was strictly student-professor. Everyone filed in, saying hello. "I'm so glad that my first class of this year is with my own House! I always hate it when I don't have Hufflepuffs. It just doesn't feel right."

Instead of doing hands-on stuff, we all sat on stools around a bare worktable and took notes on the O.W.L.s. As we trooped back to the castle in a downpour, Wayne Hopkins said, "I hope to God that every class won't be about those blasted O.W.L.s," before storming off down a corridor.

We spent break in the Transfiguration classroom, the drenching rain persuading us to stay inside. All the Hufflepuffs sat in a tense near-silence, obviously thinking about the looming exams.

Professor McGonagall, sensing that we'd already been lectured, kept her speech quick and set us to Untransfiguring wristwatches, which I had a suspicion were the results of the previous class of third years.

"I've heard that the fifth year is the very worst," Susan said as we left lunch later. "I wonder if O.W.L.s are _really_ hard, or just _normally_ hard." She blew out a long breath and said, "Let's go find the Ravenclaws."

We found them grouped in a corner of the courtyard, huddled as close as possible to the exterior walls to avoid being rained upon. "Hullo Suze, Terry's nipped up to the library," Padma told her as we approached. "Right, thanks," Susan said, winking at us and darting down the corridor.

I moved closer to the other fifth years. Michael Corner was absent, which left Anthony Goldstein, Padma and Parvati (who was strangely absent from Lavender Brown's side), Dean Thomas (who was strangely absent from Seamus Finnigan's side), and Ernie Macmillan, who was lecturing everyone on the importance of studying diligently for the O.W.L.s. "Not you, too," I said to him as soon as he drew breath. He gaped at me and I said, "Come _on_. They're in June, for God's sake! Haven't we anything else to talk about?"

"Seamus and Harry had a spat last night," Dean told us, nodding at a couple of younger Gryffindors as they walked past. "What about?" Anthony asked, casting a shield around our group, which kept us dry even though we were located almost directly beneath a gutter.

Dean looked uncomfortable. "Well, you know what the _Daily Prophet_'s been saying all summer. Dumbledore's a crackpot, Harry's an attention-seeking hero, all that." While this was news to me, who hadn't read anything in the _Daily Prophet_ except my horoscope for months, everyone else nodded gravely. "Er—Seamus's mum believes it." Parvati said, "Yes, so does Lavender. I mean, there might be a grain of truth in it. I mean, Harry saved that French girl when he didn't have to. Don't you think that _maybe_ he enjoys the spotlight?"

Nobody said anything. A group of second years walked past, giggling annoyingly about something. "I personally think it's rubbish," I announced. "I mean, who'd want to be famous for something like your parents' death?" Ernie didn't look convinced, but Dean and Padma nodded. "And Dumbledore's a genius," I continued.

Before anybody could comment, the bell rang and the Ravenclaws, Ernie, and I shuffled off to Potions.

"Haven't missed Snape much this summer," Justin said, appearing as we trudged down to the dungeons. "Where were you during lunch?" Anthony asked in the hushed tone that everyone used when they'd descended into the dungeons. "Charms Club board meeting," he explained, scratching the back of his curly head. "Flitwick was late, and Demelza Robbins kept harping on about fundraising. I mean, what does she want? Jackets?"

"I know her," Susan said cheerfully, coming down from the stairs to join us in waiting outside the door. "She's a great Quidditch player, but she's pretty bloody devoted to Charms." Justin groaned. "Great."

Just then, Snape opened the door with a loud scrape, making all of us jump, and we all filed in, careful to avoid sitting in the front row. To my delight, I ended up sitting in between Susan and Justin in the middle row on the left side.

Snape turned sharply with a swish of his robes. "I have never known why Hufflepuffs—" he said my House's name like it was a rather bland species of flobberworm—"share so many classes with Ravenclaws." Wayne Hopkins, bless him, looked around, bewildered, like he had no idea what Snape was talking about.

"But I suppose that since you're all so _hard-working_—" he paused to deepen his sneer "—you're just _dying_ to start studying for your O.W.L.s in June."

I glanced at Susan, and she shrugged about half a centimeter. Neither of us had any idea why it was laughable to be a) hard-working, or b) anxious to start studying for O.W.L.s, but at least he didn't call us any of his favorite insults, such as soft-brained, incompetent, or feeble-minded.

He droned on for about a quarter of an hour, during which everyone took notes, though most of the information was nothing new. Hannah, who sat directly in front of me in between Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein, was even writing down the insults he slipped in.

"I can guarantee that my N.E.W.T. class will be at least halved after next June," he said maliciously, staring at Hannah and Wayne in turn. "Though my N.E.W.T. students should by no means have any befuddled ideas that the work we undertake in this class will get any easier as the…_less desirable_…members are rightly culled."

He set us the task of brewing the Draught of Peace, which I was determined to make perfectly.

At the end of the hour, a perfect silver vapor was rising from my cauldron, and I proudly carried my flagon of potion up to Snape's desk, where he glanced at it without comment. Victorious, I led the way up to History of Magic.


End file.
